Man who purchased gun used to kill Officer Fox given 20-66 years in prison (video)

By
Carl Hessler Jr., The Mercury

Friday, August 16, 2013

NORRISTOWN — During an emotion-filled hearing punctuated by tears and grief from the widow and comrades of slain Plymouth Police Officer Bradley Fox, a Philadelphia man learned his fate for providing a gun to a Lower Merion man who used it to kill Fox.

Michael Joseph Henry, 31, of the 900 block of North 41st Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Thursday to 20 to 66 years in a state correctional facility for selling nine guns including a Beretta pistol to convicted felon Andrew Charles Thomas who used the Beretta to fatally shoot Fox last Sept. 13.

“This defendant is supplying guns to someone who is suicidal and who he thinks is paranoid and he’s arming him to the teeth. I find that to be an aggravating factor,” said Judge Joseph A. Smyth, explaining his reasons for imposing some maximum penalties against Henry. “He placed these guns into the underground market which is usually frequented by criminals.”

The judge’s sentence drew thunderous applause from the estimated 150 spectators, many of them law enforcers, who attended the four-hour hearing.

During emotional testimony, Fox’s widow, Lynsay, recalled arriving at the hospital to see her mortally wounded husband.

“I sat with him, repeatedly told him I loved him … realizing he wasn’t coming back,” a tearful Lynsay Fox of New Hanover told the hushed courtroom. “He was my best friend, not just my husband.”

Henry pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sale or purchase of firearms and unsworn falsification to authorities in connection with the so-called “straw purchase” incidents that occurred between April and July 2012. A “straw purchase” occurs when someone who is legally allowed to purchase a firearm purchases one and then gives it illegally to someone who is not permitted to purchase that firearm.

Henry, according to court papers, told investigators that during his friendship with Thomas he discussed with Thomas the possibility of being stopped by police.

“During the conversation, Thomas said that, if he was stopped by the police, he would run and that he wasn’t going back to jail,” county Detective James Carbo alleged in the criminal complaint. “Andrew Thomas told Henry that he ‘wouldn’t go alive’ and that he ‘would shoot a cop.’”

During an impassioned argument, First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, assisted by Deputy District Attorney Thomas McGoldrick, sought a lengthy state prison sentence against Henry, saying Fox’s death was a “watershed moment” that forever changed the law enforcement community.

“The defendant in this case knew that the murderer would try to kill a cop and knowing that, he sold him the gun anyway. Not only did he sell one gun, he sold nine guns on separate occasions,” Steele said.

“I think the judge’s sentence in this case sends a strong message that if someone buys a gun for a convicted felon they are going to do a long, long time in prison,” Steele added after the hearing.

Henry, who authorities said sold the guns to Thomas in order to make money to support his drug addiction, apologized to the Fox family and he pleaded for the judge’s mercy.

“I can’t imagine the pain you go through. The pain and suffering I caused the Fox family is (immeasurable) and unfair,” Henry, wearing a gray suit and tie, addressed the packed courtroom. “I have no one to blame but myself. I was not thinking about the consequences.”

Defense lawyer Craig Hosay called the death of “a stellar individual” like Fox a “horrendous tragedy” but urged the judge not to be swayed by emotion and to impose a sufficient sentence that was not overly punitive. Hosay argued Henry was not a career criminal, had substance abuse and mental health treatment in his background and cooperated fully with investigators.

“There is nothing that suggests my client is a street thug. My client is a flawed individual but he is not a person who is evil at heart,” Hosay argued. “My client knows the horrible effects of what he did. He knows what he did was wrong.”

While a tragedy occurred as a result of Henry’s actions, Hosay pointed out that Henry had no part in the actual shooting that led to Fox’s death and was not charged with being Thomas’ conspirator.

Henry’s sister, Nicole, testified Henry, a father of one, suffered physical and emotional abuse as a child and began using drugs as early as age 12 but said he was “a hard worker” who supported his family. Testimony revealed that in the months before he sold the guns to Thomas Henry was homeless or living in recovery or treatment facilities, trying to beat his addiction.

Henry, prosecutors said, made “straw purchases” of nine firearms, seven pistols and two rifles, at gun stores in West Norriton, Montgomery County, and East Pikeland, Chester County, between April and July 2012. Henry then illegally transferred the nine weapons, in exchange for $500 each, to Thomas, 44, of Grasmere Road, Lower Merion.

Thomas, who was on probation for a 2005 forgery arrest in Upper Merion, was not legally permitted to possess firearms.

On Sept. 13, Thomas used one of the firearms, a Beretta 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, to fatally shoot Fox, a five-year veteran of the department, about 5:45 p.m. as Fox pursued Thomas on foot near the Schuylkill River Trail after Thomas fled from a hit-and-run crash on Conshohocken Road. Fox died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Thomas then turned his gun on himself and committed suicide, succumbing as a result of gunshot wounds to the chest, authorities said.

Fox, of New Hanover, was the first Plymouth officer ever to die in the line of duty. Fox was killed a day before his 35th birthday and is survived by his wife, Lynsay, and their two children.

Authorities said six of the nine weapons, including a Colt .45-caliber ACP, a Remington 750 30-06 rifle and the Beretta pistol used by Thomas during the fatal shooting, were purchased by Henry at In Site Firearms on West Main Street in West Norriton between April 19 and July 31.

Three of the nine weapons, including a Beretta 92FS 9mm pistol and a Fabrique Nationale 57 5.7X28 pistol, were purchased by Henry at French Creek Outfitters along Schuylkill Road in East Pikeland, according to court papers.

Henry told detectives that he met Thomas in April 2012 and that he started to “straw purchase” firearms for Thomas shortly thereafter, according to the criminal complaint. Henry said that, in exchange for the purchase of a firearm, Thomas would pay him $500 cash in addition to providing him with the cash to make the purchase.

For each purchase, Henry indicated on the application and record of sale that he purchased the firearm for himself and not for another individual, Carbo alleged. Henry purchased the items for Thomas, “making materially false statements” on the applications and records of sale issued by the Pennsylvania State Police.

While the Beretta was seized by authorities, the other eight weapons Henry allegedly transferred to Thomas have not been located. Prosecutors have urged anyone who might know the location of the other eight weapons to contact authorities immediately.

“God forbid they are used in violent crimes, a murder or the killing of another police officer,” Steele said.